Foreign Aid Capacity Enhancement Seminar and Forum on Joining Hands in Pandemic Control and Working Together for Common Development held in Beijing

The China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) held the Foreign Aid Capacity Enhancement Seminar and the Forum on Joining Hands in Pandemic Control and Working Together for Common Development in Beijing on June 1.

CIDCA Chairman Luo Zhaohui made a keynote speech at the event. Lao Ambassador to China Khamphao Ernthavanh and United Nations Resident Coordinator in China Siddharth Chatterjee also addressed the event.

Representatives of some international organizations in China and representatives of China's Ministry of Finance, National Health Commission, 11 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the China Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank of China and some central State-owned enterprises (SOEs), attended the forum.

Luo said that the world today is going through profound changes and a pandemic unseen in a century. The world is faced with increasing traditional and non-traditional security threats, the severe COVID-19 pandemic, a widening vaccine gap, difficult economic recoveries, and increasing instability and uncertainty in the international situation.

He said only together can the world address these common challenges and overcome the current difficulties. China's vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind and a global community of health for all is in line with the trend of the times and reflects shared aspiration of all peoples. It is thus of great relevance and global significance. It has provided China's wisdom and solutions to the global disorder. This vision is guiding China's efforts in foreign aid and international development cooperation on all fronts.

Over the past year, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has launched the largest, most intensive and most extensive emergency humanitarian assistance since the founding of the People's Republic of China. China has provided a large number of anti-pandemic supplies to 150 countries and 13 international organizations, and sent 37 medical teams to 34 countries, which has been widely appreciated by the international community, said Luo.

This year, China has so far provided 88 countries and four international organizations with 28 million doses of vaccines, overcoming numerous difficulties. It is worth mentioning that, upon the new wave of outbreaks in South Asia in late April this year, the Chinese government launched an emergency plan, providing a large number of medical supplies and vaccines to Laos, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India in a timely manner. These efforts have helped these countries effectively fight the pandemic. China's Yunnan province, Tibet autonomous region and Sichuan province also provided timely assistance. On May 21, China announced at the Global Health Summit that China will provide an additional $3 billion in international aid over the next three years to support COVID-19 response and economic and social recovery in other developing countries.

Luo said that China's foreign aid is an internationalist and humanitarian effort led by the central government and participated in by local governments, enterprises and communities. Last year, local governments, enterprises and social organizations played an important role in providing medical supplies.

As a Chinese saying goes, “Loving people and treating neighbors kindly are most valuable to a country.” The border provinces have fully leveraged their geographical advantages, mobilized various resources and actively participated in foreign aid, making concrete contributions to a community with a shared future for all neighboring countries and regions. China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region sent medical experts to Central Asia and South Asia, and held 60 symposiums, 58 training programs and 208 courses of technical guidance. Yunnan province raced against time to mobilize its medical resources and send 48 medical expert teams to neighboring countries. Sichuan province organized key medical production enterprises to set up an industry alliance to provide Nepal and other countries with anti-pandemic materials in a timely manner. The Tibet autonomous region provided hundreds of types of medical materials and daily supplies in 18 shipments. Heilongjiang province provided medical supplies to and shared experience in pandemic control with 29 countries. Relevant central SOEs actively fulfilled their corporate social responsibilities. For instance, China State Construction Engineering Corporation, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, and China Railway Group Limited have offered a large amount of supplies. Local businesses and central SOEs have become new driving forces for China's foreign aid.

Luo said that the assistance for the fight against COVID-19 epitomizes New China's foreign aid efforts. Over the past seven decades, China's foreign aid, with relentless efforts, has started from its neighboring countries and expanded to the whole world. Roads and railways, schools and hospitals that China helped build have won the respect of the entire world. The seven-decade foreign aid road is characterized by friendship, kindness, gratitude and great love. This is the ethos of the Chinese nation and is also shared by mankind.

China does not expect rewards, but has gained something more. China will never forget that 50 years ago, African brothers helped us restore our legitimate seat in the United Nations. China's reform and opening-up and development could not succeed without the support of the world. When the Wenchuan earthquake happened in 2008 and the pandemic was first reported in China last year, the international community spared no efforts to assist China. China will always remember the moments when the world joined hands to help each other and pursue common prosperity for all. Chinese people always believe that helping others will benefit themselves as well and China always reciprocates others' kindness and remembers this profound, invaluable friendship.

He said that today, we are gathered here under the theme of “Joining Hands in Pandemic Control and Working Together for Common Development”, which is highly relevant. As an event guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, the forum aims to contribute to building a community of a shared future for mankind and to promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. It will play a role in enhancing the overall coordination ability and modern governance of China's foreign aid for creating a better future.

China will vigorously carry forward its great tradition of foreign aid. As a Chinese poem says, “Only through an arduous road can we realize the great, grand world.” In the past seven decades, China has been tackling difficulties together with developing countries, presenting to the international community a just image of our Chinese people who help those in need. China stands for upholding the greater good, treating each other as equals, attaching no political strings to foreign aid, and not interfering in other countries' internal affairs. China spares no efforts in providing assistance to other developing countries and contributing to the achieving of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

China will bear in mind and adhere to the development direction of foreign aid. Today, the world is undergoing profound changes. How to provide more effective and abundant global public goods through foreign aid to the whole world, and how to further improve all peoples' well-being have become major challenges facing China. China must make well-coordinated efforts to improve the comprehensive benefits of foreign aid, keep sharing experiences with other countries to ensure sustainability, take into consideration the local conditions and give full play to the comparative regional advantages, strengthen international cooperation and South-South cooperation, focus on the post-pandemic recovery of developing countries, expand cooperation in public health, climate change, biodiversity, agriculture and other fields, and promote open and inclusive growth.

China will push forward new dynamics in international development cooperation. China will share our visions, willingness and channels with our foreign aid recipients and partners, ensure policy synergy, project cooperation and capital connectivity between the central and local governments, and provide platforms, financial support and preferential policies from government to enterprises so as to work with all parties to open up a new chapter of international development cooperation in the new era.

Khamphao said that Laos and China are friendly neighbors with similar concepts and linked by mountains and rivers, and China's assistance to Laos has made great contributions to its economic and social development. During his visit to Laos in 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced eight assistance measures to Laos in education, health, poverty eradication, vocational training and other areas that would benefit people's livelihoods and improve their well-being.

In Laos' fight against COVID-19, the Chinese government also extended timely assistance and provided valuable support to Laos to tide the nation over the difficulties. The Lao People's Revolutionary Party, government and people spoke highly of and appreciated China's assistance.

Chatterjee spoke highly of China's international development cooperation achievements and anti-pandemic emergency humanitarian operations. He expressed gratitude for China's generosity in building up a line of defense for the world against the pandemic. He said UN agencies are willing to work hand in hand with the CIDCA to share the best practices for new patterns in international development cooperation, advocate new partnership and jointly cope with global challenges so as to contribute to the realization of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Yao Jing, director of the foreign affairs office of Xinjiang, Hao Kun, deputy director of the foreign affairs office of Yunnan, and Zhou Wanshan, deputy director of the department of commerce of  Sichuan introduced the local work of foreign aid and participation in international cooperation against the pandemic. They said that this seminar will help unify understanding, broaden visions, integrate resources and coordinate actions. The local governments will work closely with the CIDCA, give full play to their geographical advantages, serve the goal of building a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind and contribute to China's international development cooperation in the new era.

Sponsored by the CIDCA, the Foreign Aid Capacity Enhancement Seminar aims to strengthen policy guidance for local governments and enterprises to participate in foreign aid work, build a communication platform between central and local governments and enterprises, and form a new pattern of foreign aid with coordinated efforts.